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MAA will be represented at a convocation at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., on September 19 and 20. The two-day event is the culmination of a national three-year initiative, Sustainability Improves Student Learning.

The initiative is a collaboration between the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and Project Kaleidoscope, the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability (DANS), Mobilizing STEM Education for a Sustainable Future, and 11 STEM academic professional societies, including MAA.

Societies participating in the initiative have worked to infuse the concepts of sustainability into their programs, conferences, member activities, and professional development opportunities. The convocation will highlight innovative curricular approaches and explore ways to continue cross-disciplinary collaboration within and beyond STEM to engage students by connecting undergraduate teaching and learning with pressing global challenges.

Among the speakers slated to address the assembled educators is Ben Galluzzo (Shippensburg University), who has been the animating force behind many of MAA’s contributions to the international Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013 initiative. In addition to organizing two MPE-related paper sessions at MAA MathFest 2013 in Hartford, Galluzzo was instrumental in bringing the MAA Professional Enhancement Program’s “Math for a Sustainable Future” workshop to the MAA Carriage House in March.

Additional professional societies representing a broad array of disciplines will be attending. The attendees will discuss how academic professional societies and other national education associations can continue to work together to better educate for a more sustainable future.

Funding for this event and for the Sustainability Improves Student Learning initiative is provided by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) at the U.S. Department of Education.